On the rise from a period of losses and compliance woes, downtown-based City National Bank is stretching its footprint into the Southeast.
CNB, acquired in 2015 by the Royal Bank of Canada, recently opened new branches in the Carolinas — one in Charlotte, North Carolina, and another in Greenville, South Carolina.
With the move, L.A.’s biggest bank is channeling resources into a longstanding niche of lending to middle market companies as part of a revamp to RBC’s U.S. banking operations.
Building on its existing presence in Atlanta, Nashville and Miami, CNB hopes to lay down “deep roots” in the Southeast, said Chris Edmonds, the bank’s executive vice president of middle market banking. CNB leased 28,000 square feet and added 120 hires across the two new offices in the Carolinas, a priority market, he said.
“The demographics are fantastic. There’s a lot of business formation. There’s net migration to those states, and then there’s also an incredible local talent pool,” he said, also noting Charlotte’s banking legacy as Bank of America Corp.’s homebase.
In Charlotte and Greenville, CNB – historically a top lender to L.A.’s entertainment industry – expects to see clients concentrated in manufacturing, logistics, service, health care and real estate.
Edmonds said the bank is in “growth mode” despite struggling through 2023 and 2024, when it posted $285 million in losses in six months amid high deposit costs and credit-loss provisions. CNB also spent big on compliance after federal settlements on redlining allegations and risk management shortcomings.
The bank, whose bottom-line results have improved quarter-over-quarter, generated $163 million in adjusted earnings in the fiscal fourth quarter ending Oct. 31, 79% up from the previous year. Strong growth in fee-based client assets drove record revenue across RBC’s wealth management segment, RBC Chief Executive Dave McKay told investors in December.
